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=O I finished chapter 4! And it only took me 4 months. I've really been pushing myself through writing this, so if it things are boring or useless or seem forced: That's porbably it. It's shorter than usual, too, but that's easier for you.

I hope you enjoy reading, cause I got myself something like RSI typing this T_T; *obsessing*

----------------------------

Chapter 4

“This match is over. Danny and Charmeleon won and will therefore advance to the next round.”

Yawning, May raised the flag in her left hand to clarify the winner. From the corner of her eye she could see the church-clock – ten to twelve, and this was her second match already. She closed her eyes and let out a deep sigh. She had a long day ahead of her…

She yawned again and stumbled off the field. It was two hours until her third match, so time enough to have lunch and rest for a bit. This referee-thing was a lot less fun than the judging she did during the contest. Why people seemed to like battling better than contests was a thing she’d never understand. There was, in her opinion, no style; just a lot of violence. What was to like about that?

The sight of a young, red-haired woman waving at her woke her from her thoughts. She waved back and sauntered over. “’Morning, Misty.”

“Fine,” May said shrugging. “Tired and bored to death, but fine.” She smothered a yawn. “They start way too early,” she said grumpily.

Misty nodded. “I know what you mean,” she said. “I had to get up extremely early yesterday, too. They shouldn’t start at 10 and have us sign in at least half an hour before the match, it’s terrible.” She looked disdainfully at a trainer next to her, as if it had been his idea. Then she turned back to May. “But boring? Anything but that! Unless they’re really, really bad of course…”

May smiled lamely. She forgot she never told Misty about her dislike for Pokémon. “I’m not that interested in battles,” she said, “or Pokémon at all, for that matter.”

“Really?” Misty blinked, slightly surprised, but then shrugged. “Well, to each their own, they say. How long until your next match?”

“Two hours,” May replied, relieved about Misty’s casual reaction. “I think I’ll just sit down at a pavement, eat and relax.”

“Sounds good,” Misty said jealously. “I wish I would come with you, but I have a match coming up. Stupid be-there-half-an-hour-before-the-match-starts-rule. Well, enjoy your break!” And she walked on.

”I will!” May called after her. “Good luck!”
She looked around. Where would she go? There were so many good places around… She closed her eyes, turned around a few times, opened her eyes again and walked into the direction she ended up looking at. At the first, this ended up in May walking against a wall, but when she turned a little more to the left she soon found a small café and plumped down behind a table on the pavement. Finally time to rest and eat properly: She woke up too late to have a proper breakfast in the morning.
The thought of all the delicious food she could eat juggled a smile on her lips and she leaned back in her chair. It were the tiny things like this that kept boring days like today endurable. Without them, where would she be?

Just when she sat back up again to take a look at the menu, a girl watching her from the corner of the street caught her eye. She blinked. Who was that? Curiously, she tried to take a closer look at the girl, but she suddenly disappeared around the corner. May blinked again. Was someone spying at her? From the girl’s reaction when she stared back, she’d say so. But why? She continued to look at the corner for a while, but the girl didn’t return. Maybe she hadn’t been staring at her after all…

“Yes, that’s me.” May nodded. “I believe we’ve been introduced. How are you?”

”We’re great!” Ash replied, grin broadening. “Right, Pikachu?”

”Pikkaa!” His yellow friend squealed in agreement.

May smiled. “Glad to hear.”

Ash glanced at the menu May was holding. “Hey, they have apple-pie!” he exclaimed. “And fondant au chocolat! And sorbets!” He turned to May. “Care if we join you? I’ll pay for myself of course.”

”Eh… sure!” May stuttered, slightly surprised. “Go ahead.”

”Great!” Ash dropped down on the chair opposite to May and lowered his arm so Pikachu could jump on the table. “What are you hungry for, buddy?” he asked.

”Pikachu!” Pikachu pointed at the photo of a big apple-pie on the back of May’s menu. “Pika!”

”Apple-pie, huh?” Ash grinned. “I was thinking just the same!”

”Chuu!”

May giggles softly, causing Ash and Pikachu to look up surprised.

”What’s wrong?”

She smiled and shook her head. “It’s nothing,” she said. “I was just thinking you and your Pikachu get along really well.”

”Well, we’ve known each other for what, ten years now?” Ash glanced at Pikachu, who nodded. “He’s my very best friend ever since! Though…” A slightly painful expression crossed his face. “We had some trouble in the beginning. But that turned out just fine, right?”

”Pika pi!”

Smiling, Ash patted his Pikachu on the head. “He’s a great partner. Nothing we can’t overcome together!” he said proudly.

”That’s pretty cool,” May said. She thought it sounded lame, but nothing better came to mind.

”What about your Pokémon?” Ash asked.

May flushed. “I… actually…” Ash didn’t seem to be the kind of person who’d understand, but what else was she supposed to tell him? “I don’t own any.”

”Then how come you don’t own any?” he asked. “I mean, you’re old enough, and I’m sure Norman wouldn’t object, he’s not like that from what I’ve heard and experienced. Maybe his wife? No, Max said she was very encouraging about the whole thing. Or…” He deafened his voice a little. “Did they take away your license? I know you’re a gym leader’s daughter, but…”

”Of course they didn’t do that!” May exclaimed. “Where’d you get that idea?”

Ash shrugged. “I don’t know,” he said. “Oh, me and Pikachu would like two pieces of apple-pie,” he told the waitress who just reached their table.

May sighed deeply. “I’m just not too fond of them, okay?” she said. “I never became a trainer because of that. It has nothing to do with my family or me breaking the law.”

Several silent seconds followed. Apparently, it took Ash a while to register what she just said. After at least a minute, he finally found the right words to reply with. “You don’t like Pokémon?”

”Not very much.”

Ash gazed at her. ”Is that really possible?” he asked.

”Yes it is,” May said, a little annoyed. “Otherwise I wouldn’t have that dislike – oh, it’s nothing against you,” she added quickly as Pikachu took a few passes away from her.

”But why did you come here, then?” Ash asked, picking up his Pikachu and putting him on his shoulder.

”I told you already,” May said. “I’m replacing dad.” She sighed and turned to the approaching waitress.

”Mixed Fruit sorbet?”

”That’s for me!” Licking her lips, May took the sorbet from the waitress. “Thank you!”

“And two pieces of apple-“

”Over here!” Ash said, raising his hand. “Wow, they look delicious!”

”Piika!” Pikachu agreed.

The waitress smiled. “I’ll be right back with your juice and the bill.”

”Okay!” Hungrily, May picked up her spoon and took a big bite. “Delicious!”

Ash replied in a tone of agreement, but his mouth was too stuffed to make himself understandable.

May blinked. “Excuse me?”

Ash swallowed. “This stuff is awesome!” he repeated.

May chuckled and nodded. From the corner of her eye, she saw the waitress heading their way with a glass and a piece of paper. “Thank you,” she said as she took the glass.
At once, something else jumped to her eye. Two girls were staring at them from the same corner as before. She recognized one of them as the girl from earlier, but the other one she didn’t know. She frowned and tried to take a closer look at them. Who were they? And what were they staring at her for? If they wanted to ask something, they could just come over and ask…
Suddenly she noticed she was no longer looking at the girls, but right into Ash’ face.

”Your bill?”

”Oh, right!” She quickly threw a look at the note and dug up her wallet from her pocket. “This should do.”

The waitress put away the money and smiled. “Thank you very much. Enjoy your meal!”

”Sure will!” May smiled and turned to Ash. “Right? Eh-“ With big eyes, she stared at Ash’ already empty plate.

”That was great,” he stated, nodding.

”You’re a fast eater,” May said, unsure whether to be impressed or disgusted.

Ash grinned innocently. “I have a big appetite,” he said.

”I see,” May chuckled. She glanced at Pikachu, who just gulped down his last bite. “Trainer and Pokémon alike, huh?” she asked, repeating something her father once said.

”That’s what they say,” Ash said. “I guess that goes for us too.”

”Pikachuu!” His furry friend squealed.

May smiled and continued eating her sorbet. Her eyes soon roved into the direction of the two girls again. They were, she saw, no longer hiding and stood in the middle of the street, deep in conversation. Every now and then they glanced at May, and then continued talking. The longer it went on, the more May started to feel uncomfortable. She heard Ash talking somewhere in the background, but the girls distracted her too much to pay attention. Had she done anything to cause this? If she had, she couldn’t remember doing so…

Suddenly, the girls turned and ran away. May blinked. Were they finally done? Deep in thoughts, she tried to take another bite of her sorbet, but didn’t manage to get any ice on her spoon. She blinked again. The coupe stood in front of her on the table; empty.

May smiled sheepishly. “Thanks… I guess.” She tried to see the place the girls had been standing over Ash’ shoulder, but he was too tall.

Ash frowned. “Something wrong?” he asked.

”No, no!” May shook her head. “I just thought I saw someone.”

“Okay.” Ash shrugged. He got up and bended down a little, allowing Pikachu to jump on his shoulder. “I’m gonna do some training,” he said, “just to warm up for the upcoming match. See you around!”

“Good luck practicing!” Sighing, May leaned back in her chair. Only half an hour had passed, so she still had one hour and a half to do about just anything she wanted. She wasn’t really feeling hungry anymore and worrying over the two girls sure got her over her sleepiness.
She leaned back even further, until her head hung in her neck and everything looked upside down. As she felt her blood flow to her head, she noticed a flood of tiny sparkles floating up above the stadium. Suddenly enthusiastic, she sat back up. With all the rushing from the morning, she completely forgot the second round contest-appeals would take place today. She had enough time left: She could as well go take a look. For one second, Drew’s face when she gave him a 9.9 instead of a 10 flashed through her mind. She quickly shook that picture off. “Why’d that jerk come to mind?” she muttered annoyed. “It’s not like I’m going there to see him.”

She picked up her glass, gulped everything down in one pull and put it back on the table. The heavy feeling she had from hanging upside down for a while slowly started disappearing again. Enthusiastically, she pushed her chair backwards and got up. After those battles, she felt this was going to be a relief. After all, only the better co-coordinators who had managed to get through the first round would be on stage today. It had to be good!

With that in mind, she walked down the broad street. As soon as she reached the stadium, she felt the urge to put her hands against her ears; the sound was deafening, even though she hadn’t even gone inside yet. She quickly climbed the stairs to the tribunes, wanting to know what the audience was going so crazy about. But when she got up, the stage was empty, aside from the announcer and the three judges. A little disappointed, she turned to look for a seat, but all the tribunes looked overloaded. She sighed, shrugged, leaned her back against the wall and continued watching from there.

An older girl with long, black hair put up in a ponytail just entered the stage. It was hard to see from that distance, but as soon as her image appeared on the big screen May recognized her as Ayumi, Drew’s fan girl.

With an excited smile, Ayumi grabbed a pokéball from the pocket of her skirt and tossed it into the air. In a flash of white light, a butterfly-like Pokémon stretched its colorfully patterned wings and circled around the stage, showering it with small glitters.
Ayumi opened her mouth and ordered something – the audience was too loud for May to hear what she actually said.
The swallowtail Pokémon lifted itself higher into the air and started glowing, only vaguely at first but soon brighter and brighter. Rays of sparkling, golden light shone down over the tribunes and May gasped in delight. The suddenly, the light became too dazzling and May had to close her eyes. When she opened them again, everything was sparkling.

”What a perfectly performed morning sun!” the announcer yelled, finally able to make herself hearable over the audience. “Followed up by a dazzling demonstration of flash!”

Beaming, Ayumi called out to her Pokémon.
The butterfly spun around rapidly and produced a silver wind, blowing around the Pokémon itself like a small, silver tornado. As soon as the Pokémon stopped spinning, the wind stopped and the silver glitters blew into the audience. Gracefully, the butterfly landed on Ayumi’s head: The performance had ended.

”Ayumi and Beautifly end with a dazzling silverwind! Let’s find out what the judges found of this amazing performance!” The announcer turned to the judges for the points. Those spent a few seconds thinking, but soon gave out a 9.9, 10 and another 9.9, gaining Ayumi a total score of 29.8.

Ayumi bowed to the audience, returned her Beautifly into its pokéball and left the stage for the next contestant.

May smiled uncontrollably. Ayumi once again proved herself as a wonderful co-coordinator and would most likely advance to the next round. But it was especially her Beautifly that made a big impression on May. Not that she knew a lot about it, but it was the most beautiful Pokémon she had ever seen. From the fragile, colorful wings to the long and curled antennae on its head, the Pokémon looked perfect. And it was also kind of cute, May added mentally. It was a first, but she actually really liked this Pokémon.

Just as she decided to continue watching the appeals again, she got distracted by a black-haired girl waving at her from the backstage entrance.
May glanced at the stage a last time and then walked over to the girl. “Hi, Ayumi.”

”Hi there!” Ayumi grinned. “I saw you from the stage.”

”Yeah, I got here just in time to see your performance,” May said. “You did perfect! Your Beautifly is the most wonderful Pokémon I’ve ever seen!”

Ayumi beamed, but then put up a more serious face. “Anyway, that was not what I came to talk to you about,” she said with a worried tone in her voice.

”Then what is?” May asked curiously.

”Well, do you remember two girls spying on you earlier today?” Ayumi asked nervously. “When you were at that café?”

May blinked. “Yeah, of course I do,” she replied. “But how did you know?”

”That was kinda my fault, you know,” Ayumi said, looking away. “See, I saw you talking to Drew yesterday, and when the rest of the fan club asked me if I knew where he was, I told him he was with you. They went all hysterical over it! Thank goodness they didn’t question you, but most of them have been following and watching you since yesterday. Don’t worry, they promised to stop,” she added when she saw May’s goggled eyes. “It was really useless anyway. You’re free to hand out with whoever you want and besides, it meant nothing. Right?” She looked at May searchingly.

”R-right!” May stammered quickly, face colored slightly red.

”Well, anyway, I wanted to apologize,” Ayumi said, bowing her head a little.

”Drew said that?” For some reason, Ayumi looked a little sad, but quickly smiled. “He’s ever so thoughtful, isn’t he?” she squealed.

”Eh?” May quickly looked away. “I… guess,” she mumbled.

Ayumi nodded heavily. “It’s like he can do anything!” she said. “His contest skills stand out, of course. Did you see his appeal today? I can’t believe how well he managed to train Absol in such a short time. He really deserved that perfect score!”

”I didn’t see it,” May said offhanded.

Ayumi giggled. “Well, he’s definitely going to advance, so we’ll get to see him in action many times more!” she said delighted. “Right, Drew?”

”What?” Drew, who just reached them, took a startled step backwards when Ayumi suddenly turned around and grasped his arm. “Ayumi! Do you have some sort of device than can sense me coming or what?”

”I don’t need a device for that!” Ayumi said, as if insulted. “I can just feel it when you’re near!”

Drew raised one eyebrow. “I remember that,” he said. ‘I’m not as short of memory as you are.” He smothered a yawn. “Aren’t you a referee today?”

”So what?” May replied. “It’s not like that takes the whole day. Besides, I’m free to do whatever I want!” Even though he was always a little different when Ayumi was around, she couldn’t help but notice Drew didn’t seem to be his normal self.

”Yeah, of course you are,” Drew said absent-mindedly. “If you’ll excuse me-“ He pulled his arm out of Ayumi’s grasp and walked off without giving them one other look.

May frowned. “What’s with him?” she asked.

”I don’t know,” Ayumi said. “He’s probably just tired. He spent the whole night thinking – I know because I could see him from my room. Maybe he was going over his appeal again? It was Absol’s first performance, so maybe he was worried. But whatever he did, he’s paying for it now. He’s been like this all day.” She sounded rather worried.

”Well, that’s his own problem,” May said, more to herself than to Ayumi. “It’s his own fault for not sleeping anyway.”

Ayumi sighed. “Well, I still feel bad for him,” she said. “I’m going to see if he’s all right. See you later.”

”Eh, okay,” May stammered. For some reason, Drew’s tired face wouldn’t leave her mind. “I guess I’m just shocked he can act normal, too,” she muttered to herself. She sighed. “But I’m not going to let him spoil the contest for me!” Determinate, she walked back to her standing place and looked down on the stage and the contestants. But the concerned feeling she had didn’t go away.

Yay, you finally updated this! It was a great chapter, and I enjoyed it just as much as the others. ^^ I noticed a lot of events seem to parallel the actual show, which I found nice. Can't wait for the next chapter, I'm curious to see why Drew's acting strangely. Oh, and I love the scenes with Ayumi; they're very amusing. A Drew sensor... XD

Yay, update! This continues to amuse me muchly. ^_^ All the characters are good; I like Ayumi a lot, and Ash gobbling down his food. The May/Drew romance is developing nicely; it's not too fast, and you write great snappy dialogue. The only thing I'd mention is that the plot is unfurling very gradually. The amount of detail is good, but it feels a bit like not much is happening. I'm quite enjoying just taking in the scenery for now, though. ^_^ I hope chapter 5 doesn't cause you as much trouble. (I totally sympathise with the four month thing... oye. >_<)

Awesome, there are some grammar and spelling mistakes... but I'm not really one to talk, I usually misspell words... But I really like this fic, It's very original, not the classic May and Drew traveling together with Harvey trying to kill them. Update soon please, I cant wait for the next chapter!

Aw! Thanks very much for the comments, everyone! I try my best to use your advice and critiques, but I'm not sure if you notice. XD; So I'll just say it.

ZOMG, I finished the next chapter. ^^ I guess being bored while on vacation is a good thing, cause I had this written out completely in two days. I'm pretty positive this chapter is better than the last, but see for yourself what you think. It's a little longer than usual - about 13 pages, but I guess it's okay if you have enough time or are a fast reader.

Misty rolled her eyes. “I didn’t mean it as an insult,” she said. “I was just concerned.”

“Yeah,” Ash agreed. He walked over to them from the counter. “And you really look awful.”

Misty glowered at him. “Do you have any feelings for subtlety at all?” she asked.

Insulted, Ash looked away. “I was only trying to be nice,” he muttered. “C’mon, Pikachu.” His Pikachu jumped back on his shoulder and together they walked to the table Brock was sitting.

May let out a deep sigh. “I’m just really tired after today,” she said.

“And it shows,” Misty said nodding.

“My final match went on twenty minutes longer than supposed,” May moaned. “Is that even legal?”

“Well, if both are equally strong…”

“One could’ve done me a favor and just give up,” was May’s opinion. She stumbled after Ash to Brock’s table and dropped down on the seat next to Brock.

“Didn’t have a very good day?” Brock asked sympathetically.

May lay her head on her arms. “The contest was okay,” she said.

“You like contests?” Ash asked, moving a little to the left so Misty could join their table. “They’re pretty cool. I’ve always thought it was weird the battles have a time limit of five minutes, though.”

May groaned. “Why did they have to add battles, too?” she mumbled. “Just appeals would have been great, but no… Battles above anything.”

Nobody answered, mainly in concern of their own safety.

“I bet Drew’s just doing the contests for the battles,” May continued her grumbling.

“Why yes,” May grumbled. “What’s so great about him anyway?” She ignored Misty’s ‘so-that’s-what-this-is-all-about’ look and buried her head in her arms.

“Well, he’s very strong,” Brock answered, “and really famous.”

“I know he is,” May sighed. She was only nagging, hoping the worried feeling would go away. Ever since the contest that afternoon, his weird look and acting had been on her mind constantly and it really bothered her. Why couldn’t she just be happy he wasn’t his annoying self?
“Where’s Max?” It suddenly occurred to her she hadn’t seen her little brother since his battle in the afternoon.

“He’s on the phone,” Brock said. “With your parents, I think.”

May blinked. “Mom and dad are on the phone?” Her face brightened up a little.

“Well, that’s what he said,” Brock said.

May pushed her chair backwards. “I hope he hasn’t hung up yet!” she said worried. “I want to say hi to them too!” She rushed over to the videophones in the right corner of the Pokémon centre.

“Funny how these small things can cheer her up again, isn’t it?” Brock chuckled.

“Just saying hi to her parents, though?” Ash wondered. “It’s only been a few days since she saw them, I’d guess.”

“Oh, you’re the one to talk.” Misty grinned. “I remember a certain someone here who used to call his mother every week to tell her everything when he first left home.”

Ash scowled.

…

“Max!”

Max shrieked when May flung her arms around his neck. “May! Cut it out!” He yelled at her, embarrassed.

May giggled. “Sorry, little bro’,” she said. “Hi mom!”

The screen showed a woman with light-brown hair curling down in two pigtails and the same sapphire eyes as May. She smiled brightly and waved. “Hello there, May!” she said. “Long time no see.”

“How are things at home?” May asked, pushing Max away and taking his seat.

“Well, technically you are seventeen, but you could easily pass for younger,” Caroline sighed. “And you’re always so good willing and trusting. I’m afraid things might go wrong if you go out on your own.”

“So... you think I’m too… childlike?” May asked in a slightly hurt voice.

“No, no!” Caroline shook her head and put her hands up in defense. “Of course not, sweetheart! I think you’re perfect the way you are! No one’s lovelier and brighter than you are and I’m sure that everyone who gets to know you thinks so too. You just still have a bit of that childlike cuteness- which is a good thing!”

“Oh.” May decided to let it go. After all, her mother only meant it for the best. She smiled. “Okay. Thanks, mom.”

“Well, I wouldn’t say I’m into them, but they are certainly more fun that battles,” May replied. “They showed me a whole new side of Pokémon. A really nice one! I’ve already judged one contest and today I went to see the second round!” Her voice grew more enthusiastic as she talked. “I’m still not happy to be here, but those contests make it more endurable.”

“That’s great,” Caroline said.

May nodded. “But I’d better hand up. Max is gonna kill me if he thinks I was on the phone too long.”

“Thanks mom!” May grinned. “I’ll talk to you later.” She clicked a small button next to the screen and Caroline’s face turned to black. She took out Max’ phone card. Hopefully, he didn’t think she’d been talking too long and not ask her to pay him back. She lifted herself from her seat and slowly moved back to the table the others were sitting.
Max had taken her place and was now actively discussing something with Ash, while Misty and Brock only smiled and nodded every now and then. May sighed. There was no point in joining them again when she was half asleep, and she was pretty sure their conversation wouldn’t interest her. Going to bed was probably the best thing to do now. That decided, she tapped Max on his shoulder. “Your card.”

Max took it from her. “Thanks,” he said. “And also thanks for not taking too long.”

“No problem.” May covered her mouth as she yawned. “I’m going to bed,” she said. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

“You don’t have to get up early tomorrow, so you can sleep in for a bit.” Brock made the impression he had learned the whole schedule by heart.

“You might want the key to our room,” Max said, holding up a small key without looking at her.

May turned a little pink and snatched it out of his hand. “Good night everyone.”

…

Even though it was still early, it didn’t take May long to fall asleep. The only things that had managed to keep her awake a few minutes were her mother’s reasons for not letting her travel alone and the hated worried feeling about Drew, but she soon shook those off and dozed off to sleep. Even if she wanted to, she was still too tired to worry about them. They would just have to wait until tomorrow, if they were still bothering her by then.

It was, however, not the church bell or the morning sun that woke her the next day. The sound of rustling sheets, a creaking bed and footsteps on the floorboard woke her up from her sleep. She stirred, and slowly opened one eye. The other soon followed.
“Max, what are you doing?” she asked hoarsely. “Why are you dressed already?”

Max looked up. “Apparently, there’s something wrong at the carnival,” he said. “Or at least, everyone’s crowding round there. I’m going there to see what’s wrong. Now if I could only find my pokéballs…” Fiercely, he continued to search his bed.

“Check the drawer.” May yawned and sat up. “What time is it?”

“A quarter to five,” Max replied absent-mindedly as he put the sheets back on their place and opened the drawer.

May looked a little annoyed, but then shrugged. “I wonder what happened?” she said curiously. “Maybe a fire or something?” She swayed her legs over the edge of the bed and got up.

“If that was it, we should’ve been able to see it from the window.”

“I guess.” May stretched out, yawned again and walked to the window. “There really are a lot of people out there,” she said, peeking through a small opening between the curtains.

“I told you so,” Max said. “Ah! Got them!” He dug deeper in the drawer of the side table and took out a small bunch of small, white-red balls. “I’m going,” he announced.

“Wait, wait!” May hurried to the closet and started searching the shelves. “I’m coming with you!” She quickly pulled out a white shirt and a sky-blue skirt that hung just a little above her knees.

Max turned away as she changed. “Fine,” he groaned. “Just hurry up.”

“I’m almost done already,” May said as she pulled up her skirt and straightened it. She sat down on her bed to put on her socks and shoes. “Just this…” She quickly fastened her shoes. “Done!” She stood up proudly. “Only took me a minute or so.”

By the time they arrived, the place had become so crowded they couldn’t even see the problem, never mind get near it. The whole city seemed to have gathered at the carnival for what looked like a giant sleepover, as most people were still in pyjamas. Everyone was busy talking about what had happened, though it seemed nobody knew for sure.

May stood on tiptoe. “Can’t see a thing,” she sulked.

“Me neither,” Max said, following her example.

May sighed. “Is this what I got up this early for?” she whined. “Something from which I don’t even know what it is?”

A boy with pale blonde hair turned around. “There was a small fire at the Ferris Wheel,” he told them. “There is some fire damage, but I heard it’s not too big.” He turned back and started talking to the guy next to him.

May looked at Max triumphantly. “See? I told you it was a fire!”

“No, you named it as a guess.” Max rolled his eyes. “C’mon, let’s try to get closer!” And he wrenched himself through the crowd.

“Hey!” May called. “Wait for me!” She tried to follow him, but soon lost him out of sight and just went her own way. After a while, the crowd became too thick and she stopped. She still couldn’t see a lot, but a part of the Ferris wheel was now visible. Some of the Pokémon-shaped capsules were still smoking.

May sighed and scanned the area for familiar people. She noticed Ayumi on her right, busily talking to some other girls from the fan club. Unlike expected, she wasn’t accompanying Drew, who was nowhere to be seen. Maybe he was still in bed, May thought shrugging.

“Ladies and gentleman, your attention, please!”

May couldn’t see who, but someone was yelling into a megaphone. The muttering slowly calmed down.

“We had a few problems with the Ferris wheel, but we can assure you they are all solved now. If you would please leave the area and go back to your beds, that would be very much appreciated. We thank you very much for your concern and attention.”

The people around May all started moving into different directions at the same time, and she had to be careful not to get stepped on. Slowly, she made her way to the place of the accident: She wanted to see the damage before she went back to her hotel room.
When she finally got through, she uttered a small gasp. Whoever said the damage was minor clearly hadn’t seen it yet. Most of the capsules of the Ferris wheel were half or completely burned, and multiple booths seemed to also have some pretty heavy fire damage. Firemen and their water Pokémon were still present, though only a few were still extinguishing the remains.

Bill, in bright orange pyjamas, was talking to one of the firemen and a few trainers and looked like he could just fall over and sleep any moment. One of the trainers looked strangely familiar to May. She slightly narrowed her eyes, then opened them even wider than before. It was Drew, no doubt. She hesitated. Should she go over? It was likely he knew a lot more about the fire and the circumstances, and, though unwilling, she was curious to see if he had returned to normal already. After how strange he acted yesterday…

But before she could make a proper decision, Drew had noticed her standing behind him and approached. “May?” He sounded surprised. “What are you doing here?”

“You’re calling me May?” May noticed she sounded at least as surprised as he did. “That’s a first.”

Drew grinned and shrugged. “What are you doing here?” he repeated. “I admit I’m surprised such a small fuss was able to wake you from your hibernation.”

May sent a glower his way. “Keep your comments to yourself,” she said irritated. “I was curious to what exactly happened, that’s all.”

“A short circuit.” Drew glanced at the Ferris wheel. “The fire was a result. It looks a lot worse than it is, really.”

“Oh.” May turned around and then looked back at him. “How long have you been here?” she asked. “Since you seem to know a lot about it.”

“Practically since it started burning,” Drew replied. “I was awake anyway, so…”

Disbelief filled May’s face. “You get up at half past four in the morning?” Even if she’d set ten alarm clocks at that hour, she knew she still wouldn’t be able to do that.

Drew shook his head. “As if. Please. The noise woke me. My hotel’s right next to this place.” He pointed a thumb over his shoulder at a big, fancy-looking hotel.

“I see,” May said. She swiftly traced him with her eyes. He still gave a tired impression, but a lot less than yesterday and if there was anyone around who didn’t look tired at this moment, May’d envy that person. Despite that, he seemed back to normal.

Drew arched his eyebrows. “What’s with the staring?” he asked. “I’m sure it’s interesting, but a little uncomfortable, if you mind.”

“Oh, shut up!” May snapped at him. She sighed. “But you’re feeling better, right? Ayumi said you spent the whole night thinking about Absol’s appeal and that was the reason you were so tired yesterday.”

“Ayumi said that?” Drew asked and May nodded. He closed his eyes and grinned. “Absol, hm? Yeah, let’s keep it like that.”

May blinked.

“But I’m feeling fine,” he continued. “Though I have to say I’m surprised you’re so chipper. I always pictured you as a person who can’t be fully awake before ten.

May huffed, “Then don’t picture anything.” He was right and she knew it, but as today was an exception he didn’t need to know.

She shivered. Up until now she hadn’t really paid attention to it, but it was awfully cold outside. The sun wasn’t up yet and the wind was icy.

“What, you cold?” Drew asked.

“Of course not,” May lied, her arms clasped around herself to keep warm. “It’s not-“ She was silenced by a dark-green coat that landed over her head and shoulders.

“Don’t be stupid,” Drew sighed as he lowered his arm. “You’ll catch a cold like that.”

“I’m not giving you my sympathy,” Drew pointed out, “I’m giving you my coat. Now be a good girl and shut up.” He ignored May’s glaring and turned to face Bill, who seemed to have something to say. He gave a small nod to let him know he was listening.

“Thanks again for helping out, Drew,” Bill started, looking pathetically grateful in his orange pyjamas with, May now saw, Solrock printing. “The whole carnival might’ve burned down if it wasn’t for your and your Pokémon’s help.” He sighed and stared at his furry slippers. “Such an awful timing for a fire to break out, too. Just with the night fair coming up…”

“With some help, we can fix everything before tonight. A woman with green-blue hair and a blue police uniform walked up to them. “The police is willing to lend a helping hand. If you can get some trainers to volunteer, I’m sure everything will be done in time.”

“Thank you, officer Jenny.” Bill saluted at her and she saluted back, though a little mockingly and with a broad grin on her face.

A relieved look appeared on Bill’s tired face. “That would be great!” he exclaimed. “Thank you in advance. Now go to bed you two, or you’ll be of no use later on today.” He winked and walked to another group of trainers, probably to ask for their help.

As her face finally lost most of its fiery colour, May turned back to Drew. “You helped extinguishing the fire?” Both her voice and face represented astonishment.

Drew shrugged. “I own two Pokémon that know water moves,” he said. “Did you expect me to stand by and watch?”

“Well, no,” May admitted. “But…” She shook her head. “Never mind. Doesn’t make sense anyway.” Just like the question, she thought sighing.

“Do you ever?” Drew asked with a smirk and May sent a death glare his way.

“No comments from you,” she told him angrily. “Anyway, what’s with this Night Fair? I didn’t know there was such a thing.”

“I didn’t think you did,” Drew said airy. “It’s a party, or as the name says, a fair for the trainers who got themselves through the preliminaries. It’s pretty useless and barely any different from the normal carnival, but it’s their way of trying to keep the festival festive.”

“And anyone can come?”

“Anyone who’s here for the festival.”

May’s face shone with excitement. “Sounds awesome,” she squealed. “I’ll ask the others to come with me.” She smothered a yawn behind the sleeve of Drew’s coat, which hung at least three inches over her hand.

May scowled. “I don’t need you to tell me that!” She turned around and started her walk back to her hotel, ignoring his laughter under his breath. It was not until she reached her room that she realized she forgot to return his coat.

“Don’t worry about it!” Nurse Joy, who was carrying a big plank over her shoulder, gave her a reassuring smile. “All volunteers are coming and leaving at different times because of that, and yet we still have plenty of helpers.” She pointed at the place the damaged booths had been standing, which was now crowded with trainers and other people from all ages. “We have just broken down the remains.” she continued. “The police and the fire brigade are now working at the Ferris wheel, and the volunteers will be rebuilding the stands. I’m pretty sure that is where I saw your little brother a few minutes ago, too.”

“Then that’s where I’ll go!” May chirped. “Thank you!” she maneuvered between the many people and glanced around for Max.

“Look out!”

Surprised, May looked up and ducked just in time to avoid a board aiming for her head.

“Oh! May, I’m so sorry!” Ayumi put the board down and pulled May up from the ground. “Are you alright?” she asked worried. “I’m such a klutz with these kind of things!”

May smiled awkwardly. “I’m fine,” she said reassuring. “Hey, you didn’t hit me! And besides, knowing me, the same thing would’ve happened if I had been carrying that board.”

Ayumi sighed in relief. “Phew!” she said. “Glad I didn’t hurt you.” She picked up her board again. “Are you helping out too?” she asked.

May nodded. “Yep!” She glanced around. “What do I do?”

“Well, you carry these boards to the places they’re building up the booths and hand them to the builders when they’re needed,” Ayumi explained. “Look, the boards and planks for the booth I’m helping to rebuild are there-“ She pointed at a big pile of wooden boards, “-and we take them there.” She pointed at a half-build booth. “A really nice girl who said she’s your friend was just here, too, but she’s now talking to a guy with a cute Pikachu.”

May walked over to the pile. “Misty?” she asked.

“Yeah, that was her name,” Ayumi remembered. “She was really nice, helping me a little. But then the black-haired guy said something and she got all mad. A bit scary, really.” She winced.

“Yeah, I know,” May chuckled. She’d seen Misty getting mad at Ash before, and had always been glad she wasn’t in his shoes. With a groan, she picked up one of the boards. “Heavy!”

“You get used to it,” Ayumi said shrugging. “I’m so glad you’re here! It was so boring, walking up and down alone.” Together, they walked towards the work-space.

“You’re alone here?” May looked at her surprised. “I figured you’d be with Drew, or one of the other fan club girls.”

Ayumi shook her head. “No,” she said sadly. “Drew is one of the builders at the booth I’m also helping with, and all the girls were busy.” She nearly knocked over a little boy when she lowered her board.

“That’s too bad,” May said, doing the same.

“Kinda.” Ayumi shrugged. “But hey, you’re here now, right?” She handed her board to a young man with dark-brown, nearly black hair, staring up at her drooling.

“Right!” May agreed. She tapped the man on his shoulder. “Hi Brock!”

Brock quickly wiped off his mouth and then raised his hand in a greet. “Hi May!” he said, grabbing a nail and hitting it into the board with his hammer. “Also giving a hand?” He got up and took the board from her.

“Figured I have too much spare time anyway,” May replied grinning.

Brock laughed. “That’s true,” he said.

May smiled at him and then took a glance at the other people working on this booth. Most of them she didn’t know, but she recognized Max and Ash near Brock. When she peeked a bit further, she also noticed Drew a few foot away from them. Though he worked more in the back and was definitely harder for others to reach, he had by far the most people lining up with boards – mainly girls. Max was doing as well Ash’ work as his own, because Ash seemed too busy arguing with Misty to do his own job.

“Come on, let’s get the next cargo!” Ayumi pulled on May’s arm.

May nodded in agreement. “Yep!”

…

Exhausted, May dropped down in the grass at the side of the road. “That,” she said, “was heavy.”

“You didn’t have to carry around those boards all day,” Misty wailed. “I don’t have any shoulders left!”

“I still have a headache from when you hit me,” Ash complained to Misty.

Even Pikachu lay down in the grass with a worn-out expression.

“But at least we finished everything in time.” Brock looked out over the carnival, satisfied. “I’d say we did a pretty good job.”

That was something nobody could deny. All the booths stood back at their old place as if nothing ever happened. The Ferris wheel was as good as new again, with shiny new capsules and new electronics. Because they finished everything earlier than expected, most volunteers also helped decorate the place for the night fair and thus, all the booths, streets and attractions were covered with small, brightly-colored lights. From the bigger stands on the main streets to the smaller stands and attractions on the side streets; everywhere you looked were tiny lamps, illuminating the whole carnival. It looked beautiful in the light of the evening sun, and May couldn’t wait to see how magical it would look under the light of nothing but the stars and moon.

“And this is only a taste of the closing ceremony and the party at the end of the festival,” Misty said dreamy.

“Let’s hope that’s better than just the carnival decorated with tiny lights,” Ash s******ed. “But who cares? I bet there’ll be tons of delicious food!”

“You’re just a walking, talking stomach, aren’t you?” Misty sighed.

“Pikkaaa!”

Smiling softly, May caught the glimpse of a familiar person from the corner of her eye. She jumped up and grabbed the dark-green coat next to her. “Be right back,” she promised and ran into the direction of an expensive-looking hotel. “Hey, Drew!” she yelled. “Wait up!”

Drew stopped and turned, waiting for her to reach him.

May gasped for breath and held up the coat by its collar. “I forgot to give this back to you,” she said. “But here you go.” She hesitated for a moment, but then sourly added, “Thank you for letting me borrow it.”

Drew grinned and hung his coat over his shoulder. “No problem,” he said.

“Did Ayumi leave already?” May asked. After they finished the booths, Ayumi immediately went back to Drew and May had spent the rest of her time with Max, Misty, Ash and Brock.

“She went to get ready for tonight,” Drew replied. He snickered. “I suggest you do the same. Or maybe you intended on going to the fair with black wipes all over your face?”

“Shut your trap, you!” May snarled, but she quickly turned her head to check in the window of a car.

Drew grinned. “I’m afraid I’ll see you somewhere at the fair tonight,” he said. “Until then, see you.”

“Let’s just hope I’m not that unfortunate!” May shouted after him as the automatic doors to the hotel closed behind him. A deep sigh left her lips. His attitude was definitely still the same as ever, she concluded, though it felt like he slightly eased on her. She also felt she couldn’t really hate him anymore, maybe for that reason. Hmph! He still was a jerk.

Not taking the effort it’d take to go faster, she sauntered back to her friends.

“Hi again,” Brock greeted.

“You know,” Max said, “you have some black wipes on your face, right here.” He pointed at the spots on his own face.

May groaned. “Great.”

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I've already finished writing the sixth chapter, but I'm still making lots of edits and after I finished that I still have to typ. It might take a while, but let's just assume it comes out before my holidays are over (which is in a month). Please R&R!

And here we have my little review to your lubbly fic ^^ There's lots to like here and I don't believe you when you say you're not that good at english and stuff...cos this is good!

Chapter 1 + 2

Her parents had tried everything to get her over this hate and fear, even quasi-accidentally pushing her off a cliff and having a Gyarados save her (which was, May found, the stupidest idea ever because it made everything worse).

Pushed her off a cliff? LOL!

"We are going to take a look at this little ice cream shop, which seems to have a lot of customers. Oh, there is a line… Let’s interview some customers while we wait for our turn!” She tapped the man in front of her on his shoulder. “Excuse me, sir, what do you think of this little booth?”

oooo that would be embarrasing to be present at!

“Unbelievable!” Drew jeered. “Your weirdness has no limits!”

Great little line

That feeling changed drastically as soon as the last participant was announced: Drew. May’s smile faded when he came up the stage, grinning more self-confident than ever. The audience (mainly the girls) screamed and squealed when he flicked his green hair. “Masquerain, go!”

I can feel the hottness vibes from here...

Chapter 3

“If you say so, Mary.”

Love the little Mary thing running though

Chapter 4

Ash gazed at her. ”Is that really possible?” he asked.

yep, true to Ash statement...

Chapter 5

Bill, in bright orange pyjamas

Sexy...

She was silenced by a dark-green coat that landed over her head and shoulders.

AWWWWW that's so sweet!! And I seem to be the fourth person to quote that...interesting as only 3 other people have reviewed at this point!

Yes, it has been a while, but I'm back! For now anyway. I'm very sorry it has taken me so long to typ something I've had written out since the last chapter, but I can hardly read, write or do anything at all due a very bad headache - it gets worse especially behind the pc, so typing was a bit of a problem (or reading and reviewing other people's fics, for that matter. I am reading them though, don't worry ^_^; ).
ANYWAY. I didn't re-read this chapter after I finished typing, because 1) I was already glad I finally finished it and 2) I've got a feeling it won't do me much good. Personally, I'm not a 100 satisfied (I know I never am, yes) because there are things which I feel would have been better written diferently or just left out, but I needed them as a buil-up for the next chapter; In the hope it will come out before we're all dead.

I still hope you'll enjoy reading, and thank you all very much for your patience ^_^;

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Chapter 6

The further the sun disappeared behind the high buildings of the city, the more crowded the streets seemed to become. More and more trainers left their rooms and hotels, dressed up in festive clothes. The many coloured lights at the carnival illuminated the busy streets and the long lines in front of booths and attractions. That a lot of them had suffered some serious fire damage earlier was almost unnoticeable, even to those who knew.

Even though she was only looking at it through the window, May felt excited at the sight of it all. She couldn’t wait to go – but first things first, and she still had to get ready. It had taken her over twenty minutes to pick the right clothes – she hadn’t brought too many, not counting on a party like this – and finally decided on a rather simple, yet cute short yellow dress. The top was tight and low-cut, and the skirt was pleated. It was definitely not May’s favourite dress, but it was good enough for tonight.

She got up and walked into the bathroom, grabbing a brush and running it through her hair. Then she grabbed small, yellow elastic and put her hair up in a ponytail, with the exception of a few strands of hair. She glanced at her reflection in the mirror and smiled. Perfect!

When she left the bathroom, she heard Max pounding at the door. “If you’re not done within ten seconds, I’m leaving without you!” he yelled.

“Wait!” May yelled back. She quickly stepped into her shoes and ran to the door. “All done,” she said with a broad grin as she opened it.

Max sighed. “Great,” he said. “Ash and the others are waiting for us at the Pokémon Centre. Now hurry up!” He turned and walked down the hallway, off the stairs and disappeared out of sight.

May closed the door and locked up. Then she hurried after Max and caught up with him downstairs. “Keys,” she said, throwing them into the air. “I don’t have any pockets, so you keep them.”

Max caught them and put them away. “I’m not planning on staying late. The second rounds are at the stadium tomorrow and I’d rather be awake by then,” he informed her.

“Even when you go to bed at two and wake up at six, you’re still chipper,” May said, but Max didn’t hear her.

“There they are,” he said, pointing at the end of the road. “Come on!” He dashed through the street and May followed, though in a slower pace.

Misty stepped forward. “Hey!” she greeted. “May, you look great!”

“Thank you!” May said cheerfully. “You look wonderful, too.”

Misty beamed. “Thanks.” She wore a short, blue-glittering top and three-quarter length jeans. Her orange hair hung loosely over her shoulders. May glanced at Brock and Ash, but like Max, neither had bothered to change clothes.

“Shall we go?” Brock proposed and the others nodded.

“Are we going to eat something first?” Ash asked. “I saved some place at dinner just for that!”

“I could eat,” May said, licking her lips, and Max gave a small nod in agreement.

“To the food stands it is, then,” Brock decided. He looked around as they entered the carnival site. “Which one?”

May sniffed, putting her nose up in the air. “Waffles!” She turned around on one leg, her arm stretched and pointing into the direction of a small booth with a few people lining up.

“They smell good,” Misty agreed.

“And I’ll bet you they taste even better!” May grinned. “C’mon!” She rushed over and closed up the line. The others followed her, in different paces.

“This smell makes me so hungry!” Ash said in a tone that implied both pain and delight.

“Pika-chaa!”

Misty rolled her eyes and looked away from him, but May could swear she saw her smile for a second.

When it was their turn, Brock stepped forward and paid the waffles for them. “Hey, I can miss those few bucks,” he said when they offered to pay him back. “Consider it a reward for getting so far –and, uh, hanging on,” he added with a small wink at May.

All beamed and ate their waffles in silence.

“What’s next?” Ash asked after a short while, cramming nearly half his waffle into his mouth.

Max’ eyes glistered behind his glasses. “The haunted house,” he said in a death whisper as he wiped his mouth clean with a napkin.

May emitted a strange squeal and nearly choked in a small bite. “Th-he haunt-ed h-house?” she asked coughing and Misty worriedly patted her on the back. Unlike Max, the haunted house was her least favourite attraction of all. She hated being scared, and hated admitting it even more. Unfortunately, she haunted house always scared the hell out of her.

“Oh, don’t be such a baby,” Max grunted, “again.”

May pouted, “I’m not!”

“Then don’t act like one,” Max said wisely.

“There, there,” Brock came between both in a tone that resembled a mother trying to calm a group of toddlers. “Let’s not fight now, shall we?”

May and Max grumbled a last few unintelligible words, but then nodded.

Brock smiled satisfied. “Now, who wants to go into the haunted house?”

“Me!” Max and Ash yelled in unison.

“Well, I don’t mind,” Misty said, slowly, her eyes moving unsurely between May and Ash.

“Then we’ll go into the haunted house,” Brock decided. “May, if you really don’t want to come, you can just stay outside and wait for us. Okay?”

“Fine, fine,” May sighed. “You just go, and I’ll wait ‘till you come out again. That’s fine.” She followed them to the big, scary-looking attraction and sat down on a small bench in front of it while the others entered. Bored, she twirled her hair around her fingers. Now that she thought about it, what exactly was the difference between now and the normal carnival? She glanced around. The normal carnival wasn’t this decorated and closed during night time, but those were the only differences she could spot. She shrugged and rested her chin in her hands. Funny.

“I see you are having a good time.”

May shrieked and jumped up. Angrily, she turned around to find Drew grinning at her. “Up until now, I was, thank you very much,” she snapped at him, “and don’t sneak up behind me like that!”

“You’re too easy to scare, Mary,” Drew grinned.

“What about it?” May snorted. “By the way, I thought we were beyond the Mary-nonsense.”

“Anyway,” she continued, breathing rather heavily, “What are you doing? Did you come alone?”

“As a matter of fact, I did,” Drew replied carelessly. “I’ve found that going to people events alone is a lot less obliging – and certainly less tedious,” he added.

“So you come alone because you find other people tedious?” May gaped at him.

“Certain people, indeed.”

May took that as a personal offence, shot him a death glare and then faced the other way. “You could as well have stayed in your room, then,” she grouched. “I don’t believe this is any different than the carnival at any other time.”

Drew cocked an eyebrow. “Oh, but it is,” he said, though May heard a very cynical undertone in his voice. “Didn’t you know? There are…” he considered for a while, “some tables with cheap candy and punch at the square and I believe there’s some kind of karaoke going on, but I have no idea where. Thank God for that.” He rolled his eyes. “Really, the whole reason they’re doing this is because they’re afraid it won’t be festive enough for a festival.”

“Ah.” May nodded slowly. “So that’s it.”

Drew nodded. “Well, I don’t really have time to chat anymore, so I’ll see you around.” And he disappeared as quickly as he showed up.

May blinked and looked around to see if there were any fans stalking him again, but nobody seemed interested in following him at all.

“We’re back!”

May shrieked again and leaped in the air. Max came running up behind her.

“Oh, hey guys,” May said weakly. “Had fun?”

“Loads!” Max exclaimed. “You really missed something there!”

May managed a stiff smile. “Perhaps,” she said. Her eyes trailed off to Misty, who looked pale and shaky, Ash, who was trying to keep a straight face but failed blatantly and Brock, who tried his hardest to ignore them.

“If you put it that way, you should love it,” May snapped at him. “My pick, remember?”

“That’s what we all decided,” Brock said warningly, as Max had opened his mouth in objection.

“I really like the Ferris wheel,” Misty said. Her cheeks were regaining some colour and she had stopped shaking. “The view is always so wonderful.” She bended over and picked up Pikachu.

“Exactly!” May squealed. “It’s great!”

“I still think it’s only for younger children,” Max muttered as they walked, loud enough for May to hear it.

“Then you think wrong,” she said simply. But all the comments on her being childlike worried her unwillingly. Was her mother right, did she really act immature? Did all others think so, too? It would be nicer if they just told her…

She swallowed and shook her head. Nonsense, may, she convinced herself. You’re fine the way you are, and you know it.

“May, let’s go together!” Misty said cheerfully. “Girls only?”

“Sure,” May accepted happily. “I’d love to!”

The street broadened into a small square. Long cords with coloured lights criss-crossed high over the wooden tables in the middle, filled with plates with weird-looking candy, bowls filled with a red liquid and small plastic cups.

May giggled. It was indeed nothing more than Drew said it was. She tore her look away from the tables and followed Misty to the Ferris wheel on the other side of the square. They closed the short line, followed by Ash, Max and Brock.

“Hey, Misty could you give Pikachu back?” Ash asked, tapping her on the shoulder.

“If Pikachu wants to go back to you.” Misty looked at Pikachu, patting it on the head.

“Chaaaaa!” Pikachu closed its eyes in delight.

Misty grinned. “No, don’t think he does,” she said. She put down some money for a ticket and hopped aboard one of the Pokémon-shaped capsules. “See you in a while!”

“Hey!” Ash called after them, but Misty ignored him and looked the other way, s******ing.

“He’s a pro at overreacting,” she told May, shaking her head.

“Well, you did take his Pikachu,” May chuckled.

Misty shrugged. “He knows I’ll give it back soon enough,” she said. “Pikachu loves his trainer above all. Besides, I’m a water Pokémon trainer. Water-type Pokémon and electric Pokémon don’t get along too well.” She put Pikachu on her shoulder so it could enjoy the scenery. “I really love the view from here.”

“Me too!” May stared out of the window. “Doesn’t the carnival look dreamy?”

“Cut it out, guys,” Brock came between both as May was about to defend herself. “This is your third fight today. Are you always like this?”

May shrugged. “Normally a little less fierce,” she admitted.

“Then please let this have been the last fight today,” Brock sighed. “I’m sure everyone will enjoy this evening a lot more if we all just act friendly with each other.” He reminded May so much of her dad she had to hold her laughter; neither Brock nor Norman could be very intimidating.

Judging by his expression, Max was thinking the same thing. “Alright,” he s******ed. “Let’s go.” He and Ash left to their big, spinning attraction, soon followed by Brock and Misty.

May sauntered after them in a slow pace. She held still in front of a huge machine in the shape of an Octillery, only with many more arms and a cup at the end of each arm. The line was quite long and Max, Ash, Misty and Brock joined in.

May looked around for a bench to sit on, but the only one she saw stood rather far away and was already taken. She sighed and leaned her back against a lamppost. Not quite as comfy, but good enough. For the time she’d had to wait, anyway…

Suddenly, a cold hand grabbed her shoulder. May let out a small screech and nearly tumbled over. She quickly turned around to yell at Drew, but he wasn’t there. Three girls from around her age stood behind her instead. May blinked. “Uhm, excuse me?”

The middle girl stepped forward. She had very pale, blonde hair at shoulder length and ice-blue eyes. She wore a rather skimpy, frilly dress and sandals that might have belonged to the ancient Romans. “Are you May Maple from the Petalburg gym?” She didn’t even bother to make it sound like a friendly question.

“Well, yes,” May stammered, “why?”

“We’re the Drew Fan club,” the blonde girl said. “I’m Kaci, the president.” She spoke in a strange accent, though May couldn’t make out which one.

May blinked and gaped at them in horror. Where did they get those ridiculous ideas? But somehow, she couldn’t get a word over her lips.

“He doesn’t have any time for little girls like you,” Kaci told her icily. “He has his own business to worry about, and they don’t include babysitting you.”

May’s face, which had lost nearly all colour, now started to turn red. “Just wait a second!” she exclaimed. “I’ve never done any of those things! I’ve never asked for any attention! We’re not even friends – I hardly even know him! He’s the one coming to me, not the other way around – and don’t talk to me like I’m some sort of little kid!”

Kaci folded her arms and swung her hair in her neck. “We’ve asked you to give the innocent act a rest already!” she snarled and May felt a sudden urge to step back. “We’re letting you off with a warning this time, but if we ever notice you pull something on him again, we’ll be back.” She turned around and stalked off, followed by her two friends. “What a waste of time, talking to such a girl,” May heard one of them say as they disappeared between the other people.

She just stood there, motionless. She now recognised the girls; they had been with the fan group chasing her and Drew a few days ago. But she couldn’t understand how they could think all that, even if they saw them together that day… She also hung out a lot with Ash and Brock, but no one ever made a problem of that, even though they were much friendlier with each other. Much more than she and Drew, anyway. And what about Ayumi? She was always hanging around Drew and clinging on to him… Did they harass her like this as well? But even if they did…
“How can they say such things?” May whispered hoarsely. Her throat felt awfully dry. Maybe she just needed to drink something. But she didn’t have any money on her… Then she remembered the free punch back at the square. Punch might not be her favourite drink in life, but for the moment, it would do just fine.
She swallowed and made her way to the middle of the square. Not many people seemed to have touched the punch yet. Only one bowl was slightly emptied.
May grabbed a plastic cup, filled it with the red liquid from the closest bowl and bolted it down in one gulp. She gasped. Not bad at all. Why so many people seemed to have avoided it, she couldn’t grasp. Sure, it tasted a little dry, but it was also very sweet. Only the smell… May reckoned she recognised it, but couldn’t recall wherefrom. She shrugged. It wasn’t really important. This was great stuff. She even had the idea her thoughts and worries from earlier were fading away.
She filled her cup again, and again, and again. With every gulp, more worries seemed to fade away. And that wasn’t all that changed. A warm, happy feeling spread slowly through her body, making her feel as if she could do anything. But her movements seemed to become less controllable than before and for some reason, the carnival seemed nearly twice as crowded. She shrugged it off. Such weird stuff… She put her cup on the table and tried to take a step to the left, but tripped over her own feet and fell over. Luckily, someone caught her before she hit the lamppost and she just hung there, trying to understand what had just happened.

“What exactly are you doing?” May vaguely recognised Drew’s voice.

“Hi there!” she said, strangely slow.

Drew frowned and put her back on her feet. “What’s wrong with you?” he asked. “You’re acting strange, even for you.”

May started giggling and nearly fell over again, but managed to stay on her feet with help from the table. “I’m great!” she said, slurring her words. “In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever felt this good before!”

Drew took a few steps back as she spoke. “You smell an awful lot like alcohol,” he stated.

“Alcohol?” May looked at him with big eyes. “No way!’ She grabbed her cup from the table and wanted to take a refill, but Drew snatched it out of her hand.

“Please say you haven’t been drinking the punch,” he groaned.

May blinked. “It’s good stuff!” she said in protest.

Drew sighed. “It’s pure junk,” he said. “More than the half of it consists of pure alcohol and sugar. The fact that everyone around is avoiding it like the plague should’ve tipped you off, but I guess even simple hints like that don’t work for you.”

“Do they?” May looked up at him, deep in thoughts. “I don’t remember.”

“That’s because you’re stinking drunk.” Drew put her cup back on the table. May tried to grab hold of it, but he stopped her again.

“Hey,” she said, “that’s mine!”

“You’re not drinking one more drop tonight,” Drew told her strictly. “Or you’re gonna end up in the hospital due to alcoholic poisoning.”

“But I’m thirsty!” May reached for the stack of plastic cups but tumbled over again. Drew caught her and pushed her back up.

“Then get yourself some water,” he said. “Alcohol doesn’t help against thirst anyway.” He glanced around. “Where are your friends?”

May shrugged. “Dunno,” she said. “Around.” Her eyes grew even bigger than usual and she backed off. “But I can’t be around you!” she said fidgety. “No, no!”

Drew raised one eyebrow. “What are you talking about?”

“You don’t have time for little girls like me,” May said earnestly. “You’ve got your own business to worry about, not including babysitting me.” She giggled dumbly and stared around.

“And who said that?” Drew asked, frowning.

May tried to remember. “A girl,” she said slowly. “With a really weird name. What was it again?” Her head hurt as she attempted to recall the name. “Something with Ka… I think…” She suddenly felt very tired.

Drew let out a deep groan. “Kaci?” he asked and May nodded. “That girl is as big an idiot as they come.”

May still giggled softly. “Oooooh.” She yawned and blinked. “I’m sleepy.”

“Oy!” Drew grabbed hold of her shoulders to keep her from pouring in at the spot. “Stay vertical,” he said, “or things might get a bit nasty. Where’s your hotel?”

“Somewhere around,” May spoke with a thick tongue. “I thought.”

“There are more than ten hotels around here,” Drew sighed. “I guess you don’t have any keys with you?”

“Max has the keys,” May knew, “but I don’t know where he is.” She drifted about on her legs.

that was a really awesome chapter!
o_O may got drunk? can she sue somebody? xD but it really was a nice touch to the story.
ooh! another fan club! they sound pretty hard core... scary, really. lol.
and hurray for drew's random pop ups in the story! lol.
can't wait for the next chapter!

This wasn't May's night, was it? At least now she knows the faces of the girls who'll probably be sending her death threats for the rest of her life. Her getting drunk was so cute. Poor Drew's going to have to carry her. ...heh.

I've just read this and it's great! I love the discription and the fact that it IS pokemon but ISN'T the traveling is good. Very nice idea! Loved this last chappie. Here's me and all the other contestshippers hoping Drew will take her back to his room. *jumps around*